For some reason I thought the Malkin moment had passed. She's still around?

I'm going to offer a different take on this. Every time a prominent right winger comes to speak at the university, the reaction is the same. Most people sit quietly and listen. Some people offer up well thought out questions. And some other people are rude and boo and hiss and shout them down. The same thing happens when a prominent lefty comes to town although admittedly the conservatives tend to be a little more polite.

I think it's time that we stop having the same shame on you...free speech means hearing viewpoints you don't agree with repetitive conversation and talk about some of the underlying issues as to why seemingly smart people might act this way.

No one ever discusses the power dynamic that is in play at these events. On one side you have someone who already has this huge platform to disseminate their ideas from and on the other side you have relatively powerless students who may be just beginning the process of becoming politically conscious. The pressure to make some kind of statement or take some kind of action when the playing field is relatively level is enormous. I'm sure most of the people who shout/boo/harrass would be more interested in debating but they don't have the same platform and it is impossible to debate a relatively complicated issue like immigration in a time-limited question and answer session when the speaker on the stage has the upper hand.

I'm not trying to excuse the actions of people who do not respect the free speech rights of others but I find it telling that when this type of things happens repeatedly that people just assume that the rude people in the audience don't have valid arguments and don't examine the power dynamic in play instead.

Intelligent discussion and debate are a breath of fresh air, at least to those who think about issues, rather than just emote. Name-calling is a poor excuse for taking a stand -- whether you agree with a speaker should not determine your manners. Liberals give themselves a black eye by engaging in chanting, shouting, and foul-mouthed epithets, and do their causes no favors in the process. Most conservatives, and a great many moderates, find such behavior childish and offensive. If we want to persuade and convince people of the rightness of our ideas, we need to present them in a calm, well-reasoned way. Calling anyone a dumb f*** will do nothing to change minds, but will confirm the worst suspicions of those who oppose us.

Gracious. You shouldn't call a speaker a dumb fuck? They are getting all growed up at the U of Wisconsin.

To Jesse Russel: I'd like some examples of "vitriol" from Ms. Malkin that come close to what she was subjected to by the tolerant liberals at Madison. I'd also like some examples of things yelled at liberals who came to town that even remotely approach what Ms. Malkin was subjected to. You raised the issues with absolutely no examples to back up your claims, here's your chance to show your not just spewing liberal talking points.

The reason why so many would rather shout obscenities and disrupt conservative speakers is because they are afraid the message may resonate. There is much worse 'vitriol' in the comments about Malkin than anything ever said by her.

This statement:

"Malkin says what she needs to say in order to keep her job with FOX, to secure speaking engagements, and to move books"

shows no understanding of Ms Malkin at all and only serves to negate the value of JR's opinion.

The next time someone tells you that anyone supporting enforcement of existing immigration laws (which allows for immigration) is a 'racist' or 'xenophobe', keep moving because they have no knowledge of the situation.

College liberals are usually arrogant asses who are impressed with themselves. I should know because I was one. Of course at some point Dad decided to stop paying my bills . Shortly after graduation I did find a job and eventually married and had children. Thats when I realized I was now a conservative.

Credit to you for decrying the use of "dumb f*ck". As for the rest of your post, you're a dumb...bunny. (Apologies to bunnies who are insulted.)

It's ironic that Jesse whines about liberals not having a platform with which to air their views, so it's some kind of twisted justice that they attack conservative speakers verbally and physically. What bullshit. The campus is a veritable re-education camp of leftist thought, and if there was any kind of real justice you'd see young conservatives rising up against the constant slurs and close-minded lectures they're forced to endure in the name of "tolerance." It takes courage to be a conservative student on a college campus, and their quality shines every time an asshat like Michael Moore or Naomi Wolf comes to a campus and insults this country in general and conservatives in particular. What's the worst those demagogues will face? Picket signs.

The college campus is a no-thinking zone these days, and that's why the best we get from our college educated students is call someone they disagree with a dumbfuck. It's no surprise that Michelle Malkin has more intelligence than that whole pachouli drenched crowd oggling her - what's obvious is that she has more courage than every red-eyed, red book reading revolutionary aching to sum up their deep thoughts about the issues she talks of with epithets.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has proven itself an embarrassment to every college educated American, and confirmed to every American who never went to college that there's nothing redeeming about it...

What an arrogant piece. Typical and much expected from the chattering classes of Wisconsin.

She is so hated because she is smart and outspoken and supports her positions with evidence. That last one is hard for lefties to take. So they use the logical fallacy of ad hominem to diminish her instead of providing contrary evidence and arguments.

Unbelievable -- but expected. Mean-spirited and intellectually bankrupt.

And I quote "If we are to obey the law, Tope should be deported. But I never want to make that argument again, especially against a friend. We must use this tragic situation as an opportunity to redefine what constitutes true “law and order.”

It isn't about "friends" being deported. Immigration is MOST CERTAINLY NOT about protecting the delicate sensibilities of students! It's ALL ABOUT law & order, and the fundamental right to control who enters and leaves our country. It's about ensuring fair use of our nation's resources, and those whom enter illegaly or overstay their visas can & should be deported posthaste. It's about ensuring that taxpayer funds DO NOT go towards supporting illegal immigration in any way shape or form.

Contrary to some people's belief, we do not have a responsibility to provide anything at all to those foreigners who chose to break our laws knowingly. They do not even have civil rights if they are illegals- for civil rights belong to citizens and legal residents.

If you wish to redefine the law, by all means go for it. Until then, the deportations will continue apace.

You might want to reflect that along with the many fine people who feel they have no choice but to enter our country illegally, there are MANY whom are fleeing justice from felony crimes, and many whom have intentions of committing more crimes once they enter our country. Just ask the parents of the 3 students beheaded by MS-13 illegals .. I wonder how they would feel about your open-borders rhetoric.The crimes committed by illegals are doubly hurtful, for THEY SHOULDN'T BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Your answer to the problem is the soft & easy answer - let's make them all legal, voila' the problem disappears. Yet amnesty's have a proven track record of attracting more illegals. What is your answer to the NEXT 20 million illegals? Will you also provide THEM amnesty? Considering that illegals have killed more Americans than have been killed in the Iraq war, yet I don't see many college campuses protesting THAT.

As a father and a taxpayer, I have three words for you, only unlike some of your fellow liberals, I won't give you the satisfaction.

Vitriol!! You are unbelievable. This is why most normal people despise your ilk - you reverse everything. Law & order is detestable, enforcement of the law is unbearable, and your consideration lies with the law-breakers, of course. Assimilation is a shameful thing to you, and to have someone as esteemed as M.M. tell you the truth
of the ugly reality we face is just hateful to you.

Your "re-definition" of law and order, though hoped for by many, is creating nothing but danger,chaos, resentment, and deep anger in America. It is a nightmare scenario in an insane asylum.

Be careful what you wish for.

Jesse, you are so quick to speak about how it's unnecessary to call Michelle vile names, but even your title for the piece displays your true feelings..."Regrettably"? Really, why would you find it regretable to stand up for proper decorum? Is there another standard that applies to people that you DON'T "Choose to ignore"? You either disagree with the action or you don't, there is no room to regret.

You then inject your personal bias into the subject by placing quotes around the title of analyst, as if this proves to your audience that the title is ficticious. But really, she is continually analyzing the actions of people and providing that analysis in her reporting, so that clearly supports the title.

Next you take shots at her by commenting that she "says what she needs to say in order to keep her job with FOX". Wow, that comes across as SO sour grapes, as if you can't believe someone like her has national news exposure when a liberal like you is stuck doing a blog. You owe it to Michelle that you are even getting any readership. Without her link back to you, you'd be getting the same paltry readership you typically do.

You try to make some on the left seem so intelligent by linking to a single guy talking about his perception of the illegal immigration subject, but you fail to recognize that it all starts out as a lie. I don't care if I get to know these illegal aliens or not, if they are here illegally they need to get out and follow the law. I have too many friends who have immigrated here legally who will not get any consideration under any of the amnesty plans, because they chose and continue to choose to follow the laws of this land. They pay federal taxes, social security, city, county, school district, and all the other hidden taxes that members of this society pay. They have all learned the language, they all have insurance on their cars and valid drivers licenses and they face immediate deportation if they remain unemployed for 30 days. So you can cry me a river for the illegals you may come to know, but the only people that should get preferential treatment are those that paid the price.

Go ahead and continue to ignore people like Michelle Malkin. Choose to remain ignorant, but don't give us this half hearted, jealous of her success attempt at spanking a potty mouth, as you clearly took many more chances than he did to connect the phrase "Dumb F***" with Michelle.

Your words reveal your heart, and your heart is in complete agreement with the one who first called her names.

Greetings from Vancouver, BC on Canada's Left Coast. I read your entire piece with great interest. I applaud you for condemning those who blatantly swore and yelled at Ms. Malkin. But then you couldn't seem to get yourself too far away from them and continued to attack Malkin over & over again on a very personal level. If one were to accept your words literally they'd have to conclude that she only says what she does to keep the bucks flowing into her bank account. Can't you possibly accept that someone has a point of view different from yours and that does not make them necessarily wrong by default? Or do you have some direct lineage to Moses you're not sharing with us and have the Tablets of Truth buried in your basement?

College liberals are usually arrogant asses who are impressed with themselves

While I agree with your point that it is important to be civil, I find it incredibly ironic that your piece was anything but. You did not use examples for your colorful reasons why you believe her arguments are poor but just attack them all the same.

Please, practice what you preach.

Wow. I can see why Dane101 tends to avoid writing about politics. It really brings out an extra special cross-section of the community.

I recommend that progressives at Madison continue to use fascist tactics against conservative opponents.

Don't bother hearing them out, just keep bleating "four legs good, two legs better!" whenever they speak. And don't hesitate to use violence against them whenever you think you can get away it.

Keep poisoning the climate of intellectual discourse in America and projecting it all on the conservatives.

"chattering" "Howard Stern-like shock jockery""cult of echobloggers" "spew" "method of vitriol" "structure is wobbly and often unfit for occupancy" "cockroach infested" etc.

I've read Michelle a long time and I'm quite certain I've never found a post of hers that spent as much time as you did in your "method of vitriol" and without substance.

What you've written is a non-apology apology. Explain how you're not name calling? And because Michelle linked to it, gosh, I guess you're the toast of the town with all this traffic. The only thing you've convinced me is that your vitriol is clever when you actually had a chance to change this conservatives mindset, even if just a smidgen.

I'm conservative, in part, because of lots of you failed to sway me. Michelle, however, does.

Having to resort to ad homonem attacks on Malkin, shows the bankruptcy of the progressive movement. Keep up the good work.

If you call yourself a news reporter and you work for Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC, you've got to prove yourself. The media is America's #1 worst enemy right now. The media somehow gets to draw the line that defines Left and Right every day and it's getting thicker and thicker. They make people pissed about issues that don't affect them at all. Hitler did that once, didn't he?

It's amazing how many college campuses, which are supposed to promote the free and open exchange of ideas, are the scenes of the most intolerance. Unless you comport with the left wing views that most college campuses encourage, you are treated to pies in the face, name calling, disruptions of your speeches, etc. Rarely is this same treatment given to the many liberal speakers that appear on college campuses. How many conservative speakers are invited to commencement ceremonies? How are the few that are invited treated? The ones I've seen have been shouted at disrespectfully, had disruptions occur at the ceremony, etc.

So much for the "tolerant" left. Fortunately, many of these kids who have been brainwashed at college will enter the real world. When they do grow up, hopefully their extreme views will moderate. I know. I used to be a liberal in my college days and consistently voted Democrat. Now that I have some world experience behind me, reality has hit, and few Democrats with their socialist views, would get my vote.

There are no fascists like liberal college students (and their professors).

We see this sort of thing every time a grown-up (conservative) is invited to speak at a college with the expressed purpose of offering a viewpoint that most of the students won't ever be exposed to until they get out in the world, meet reality head on, and start trying to pay their own bills and make it without mom and dad. The kids reject the message because the idea of a world where they're not coddled and protected scares the hell out of them. So they act up, secure in the knowledge that in college, no one expects them to be mature or respectful of others. (That lesson will only come later in the real world when they learn it by virtue of losing jobs and dates and occasionally getting punched in the mouth.)
But what's most revealing is these kids have to shout and spew profanity because they have no intellectual argument to anything that someone like Ms. Malkin, or Ann Coulter, or David Horowitz has to say. Suddenly the kids are confronted by successful people saying things that make sense while running counter to everything that they want to believe, and they have NO arguments to offer back. So they just focus on denigrating the speaker out of anger, like a toddler who drops it's pacifier.

Someday you kids'll look back on this and realize that we're right and hopefully you'll come around and drop the liberal elitism that you're wrapped up in. Only then will you be able to get a job that doesn't involve wearing a paper hat or brewing up lattes for your betters who already made the connection and have real jobs and lives.

What's the matter Jesse? Don't like the fact that Michelle Malkin can dish out as much as she takes? If you want the quintessential sites for vitrol, try HuffPo, DailyKos, or the Democratic Underground. The miscreants who post on those, are some of the most billious lunatics on the planet. Most university students are all about 'free speech' as long as the speaker is as nilihist as they.

Someday, you'll grow up and realize just how wrong-headed your arguments are. College liberals today have no concept of anything other than what they are spoon-fed by thier liberal professors who really don't know much about the world or country we live in. I'm glad I served my country for ten years before going to college - I had a perspective on life few of my classmates had - and knowledge that several of my professors did not have.

So, you finally realized something your parents should have taught you years ago. Wonderful. Too bad you didn't follow your own advise.

So you admit you ignore Michelle Malkin's writings and appearances, yet you claim incorrectly that they are full of vitriol. Did it ever occur to you that keeping yourself deliberately ignorant regarding Malkin's message and her manner of delivering it might render you incompetent to judge her?

And you have no compunction in claiming that Malkin is driven by cynical motivations (book sales, television deals) rather than sincere political and other convictions. Again, what is any of that supposed to be based on, since you simultaneous brag about shielding your delicate sensibilities from Malkin?

You can either presume to judge Malkin - or you can brag about never paying her any attention. You can't credibly do both simultaneously.

You think you're better than the "dumb-f*ck" crowd, but you're not. They're at least honest.

You really called out the angry Malkin supporters, Jesse.

There's something a little off about a bunch of people coming here to decry the use of ad hominem attacks and name-calling, who then go on to say things like:

1) "College liberals are usually arrogant asses"
Gotta love broad generalizations.

2) "you're a dumb...bunny."
Cute!

3) "campus is a veritable re-education camp of leftist thought
Wow, ever been to BYU? Liberty? etc. I'd bet they'd beg to differ.

4) "the constant slurs and close-minded lectures they're forced to endure in the name of "tolerance."
More broad generalizations.

5) "college campus is a no-thinking zone these days"
How many campuses have you visited recently?

6) "she has more courage than every red-eyed, red book reading revolutionary"
Hey look, name calling!

7) "The University of Wisconsin-Madison has proven itself an embarrassment to every college educated American, and confirmed to every American who never went to college that there's nothing redeeming about it."
Nothing redeeming about college? Really? That comes off sounding just a little anti-intellectual.

8) "Typical and much expected from the chattering classes of Wisconsin."
Stereotyping ahoy!

9) "Mean-spirited and intellectually bankrupt."
Dismissive. Great.

10) "Your answer to the problem is the soft & easy answer - let's make them all legal."
Actually, Jesse never says this. He says we need to revisit immigration policy, that's it.

11) "This is why most normal people despise your ilk."
You despise us? Damn, and I only disagree with you.

12) "Without her link back to you, you'd be getting the same paltry readership you typically do."
Actually, dane101 does quite well for itself on a regular basis. We also didn't make Malkin link to this article. She chose to do it.

13) "College liberals are usually arrogant asses who are impressed with themselves."
Hooray for more broad generalizations!

14) "progressives at Madison continue to use fascist tactics"
Do you really know what fascism means? I would encourage you to read up on Germany in the 30's and 40's, as well as Italy and Spain. Then come back to here and tell us that we're fascists.

15) "There are no fascists like liberal college students (and their professors)."
Same old.

16) "We see this sort of thing every time a grown-up (conservative) is invited to speak at a college."
Aaaand now we move on to the "you stupid naive kid" rhetoric. This is not helpful, people.

17) "Someday you kids'll look back on this and realize that we're right."
Someone mentioned arrogance earlier....

18) "Only then will you be able to get a job that doesn't involve wearing a paper hat or brewing up lattes for your betters who already made the connection and have real jobs and lives."
Our "betters"? Cripes, man, come down off that pedestal and let's actually talk face-to-face, OK?

19) "The miscreants who post on those, are some of the most billious lunatics on the planet."
This is exactly the kind of thing we should be trying to discourage in debate.

20) "Someday, you'll grow up and realize just how wrong-headed your arguments are."
And there it is again, the talk-down-to-those-who-disagree-with-me tactic that gets us ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE. Age has zero to do with the "rightness" or "wrongness" of ones opinions. The same goes for whether one is conservative, liberal, or somewhere in between. If we'd all even attempt to cut out the patronizing, generalizing tone, we might actually get somewhere.
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I can't wait until I grow up, enter the Real World and shake this pesky 'Progressive' phase that I'm in.

I love when "d**b f**k liberals resort to screaming to interrupt a conservative speaker. It works to help insure they will lose elections. LOL!

Jesse, you have managed to travel part of the way to a civilized discussion of issues like illegal immigration. You're trying to reject mindless spewing of obscenity but you haven't mastered the art of debate with people like Michelle Malkin. Yes, she can be a provocateur. Where she still has the upper hand is in marshaling her arguments. Your entire piece is an ad hominem attack on her, not her ideas. Legal immigration should be much more efficient and easier for people who will be self supporting and who will contribute to the country. Unfortunately, politics gets involved so people with skills like computer programming are excluded because of fears of competition by people who know how to work the system. On the other hand, poor blacks, with a few exceptions, don't act in their own best interests and so floods of poorly educated illegal immigrants with no skills are encouraged by left wing activists like those at your university. In the days of Laissez Faire, ity didn't matter so much because new immigrants were on their own and there were no government handouts that had to be paid for by others. Today, the health care system for the poor in Los Angeles is bankrupt because it is overwhelmed with illegals who pay little or no taxes except sales taxes. Texas has less problem with them because its state government, far less expensive than California's, is wholly funded with sales tax. I would hope to see some real understanding of the problem in a piece like yours but all I saw was invective, albeit less obscene than that of your colleagues at UW, and so you contributed little to the discussion.

I spent most of time reading this thread doing two things. One, laughing because sometimes liberals are just too funny. And two, feeling very proud that I was never an arrogant ass college liberal. I was one of the few Republicans I knew when I was in college (thanks to my intelligent parents) and damn proud of it. Now I've been out of college for a few years and lo-and-behold! Several of my previously parent-supported-republican-trashing friends have entered the real world and turned to the "dark side".

The liberal creed is, "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I will fight to the death against your right to say it."

Liberalism is not a rational set of political beliefs. Liberalism is a religion. Liberals KNOW what is right and wrong. They do not need to resort to tedious reasoning or tedious searches for evidence. Above all, a liberal does not need to waste his time listening to dissenting voices. And because their beliefs are of a religious nature and based on faith, they feel they have every right, as with so many other religions, to defend their church with hatred and violence.

You sure could have fooled me. It's easy to understand why MM linked here. If this is an apology, or a "defense," I'd hate to see what an attack looks like ... oh wait ... I did read Unhinged!

I have read MM's books, articles, and seen her appearances on Fox News. MM has her own thoughts, and doesn't always agree with other conservatives. MM is one of the first to call other so-called conservatives to task when they act like liberals. Any implication to the contrary only shows ignorance, malice, or outright fraud.

I think students should show their true colors when a speaker comes to speak. It sends a very clear message that is more honest than a muted and "regrettable" decorum of civilized debate. We expect students to react this way and it provides validation of our ideals. When the only response is shouting, threats, physical violence, and other anarchy, we see how truly intellectually bankrupt those students are. It's that exact reason we come to your schools to speak. We come with the hope that some students will listen and become enlightened by what they hear.

I'm also enjoying (not really) the parade of comments over at Malkin's site (on the post that links to this one), most of which include as many or more ad hominem attacks and ridiculous name-calling than what they claim to be pissed off about in this essay.

Pot. Kettle.

But then, I don't get the impression that there's a lot of reading/listening going on here.

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I think we need to write a piece on Ms. Malkin every week; just my thoughts.

For those that claim higher education isn't leftist.....at least three UW schools discriminate against their Christian students. Madison, Eau Claire and Superior. All three were sued and of course lost.

I have degrees from two UW schools and am now in grad school at the University of Minnesota. I'll be more then happy to debate anyone on intolerance and hostility towards conservative-Americans.

Just this morning I registered for my summer classes. Before my courses were confirmed, I was given a sales pitch to fund to liberal pressure groups. I will try to paste the screen shot of them in a seperate post.

No fooling. Dane101's net worth just increased tenfold. Thanks, conservative elitists!

Emily:

Love your posts. Laughed my ass off. Final thought - you've got too much time on your hands. Please get a life. Find a boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever.

And the reason you're still liberal: You've got a big heart! You want to solve all the world's problems. And that's great. Just don't impose your vision of the world on me by compelling me to open my wallet, against my will, to fund a large and intrusive government.

That's what is behind all the comments about "parent supported liberals trashing Republicans." If you and Bill Gates want to use your own money to save the world great, I have no problem with that. If you want to pay for the free benefits for illegal aliens that is OK by me. Interestingly however - that is almost never the case. Its always liberals who know best trying to force me to pay for things that are outside the scope of our government. Processing policy through one's emotions is not the way to secure the future of our country.

Emily:

UW-Superior kicked out InterVarsity Christian Fellowship because they have a rule were the leadership has to be a Christian. No restrictions on membership. No other groups have been kicked out for same reason (that they have to believe in the basic premise of the orgnaization). Court precidents have ruled that this is fine, but UW-Superior chose to go after them anyway. They were sued and lost of course. $20,000. This is why I stopped given money to the UWS alumni group. Why should I give money to an organization has such a dislike for Christians, that they will spend $20,000 to make a statement.

UW-Eau Claire: Said that to get a community service credit, you cannot volunteer with any religous affilated group. In Eau Claire "religous" group = Christian. As one student noted in the EC paper, she can get her community service credit for dog walking, but not working at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.

UW-Eau Claire: RA in the dorms led a Bible study on his own time. University staff said he can't do that. Ordered him to stop the Bible studies (repeat, this is on his own time). They said it makes students "uncomfortable", although did not site who was "uncomfortable". For comparison, the year before, a female RA did a presentation of the Virgiana Monoluges. The University praised her for this. So you can't lead a Bible study, but you can talk about your (ohhhh the words we had for that when I lived in the dorms). Also dropped my alumni membership her.

UW-Madison: Kicked out the Knights of Columbus. Although this one I believe restricted membership, not just leadership so you could argue that the campus was correct to remove the Catholic organization. Just wonder if this rule is applied evenly.

http://badgerherald.com/news/2006/09/04/knights_threaten_uw_.php

http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/7315.html